


Of Robots and Boxes

by comically_so (knobblyfruit), knobblyfruit



Category: Mystery Science Theater 3000
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-01-14
Updated: 2007-01-14
Packaged: 2017-10-18 01:40:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/183569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knobblyfruit/pseuds/comically_so, https://archiveofourown.org/users/knobblyfruit/pseuds/knobblyfruit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Joel set out to build robots, he never imagined he'd end up here.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Robots and Boxes

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place pre-series. This was inspired by Prompt #17 (Boxes) at [](http://community.livejournal.com/fic_simplicity/profile)[**fic_simplicity**](http://community.livejournal.com/fic_simplicity/).

Joel Robinson rushed into the control room of the Satellite of Love and skidded to a stop next to a large purple robot. The panic etched on his normally calm face told Gypsy exactly what was going on.

"Crow missing again?" she asked. The little gold 'bot had only been activated a week ago, but he was already succeeding in driving his creator insane. From whoopee cushions and little plastic spiders in the cereal boxes to wandering around the ship without telling anyone, Gypsy wouldn't be surprised if Joel had developed some premature gray hair.

"I only turned my back for a second!" Joel took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He leaned forward on the control panel, staring at all buttons and monitors but not actually seeing them. "I've looked everywhere, Gyps!" He whirled around to face her, unusually wide-awake. "You haven't seen him, have you?"

She shook her head. "Sorry, Joel. Have you asked Magic Voice?" The SOL's resident computer was responsible for finding Crow the last two times, by letting the 'bot know that he was in for a major time out if he didn't get his metal hinder to the bridge.

Joel nodded. "He isn't answering her, but she promised to listen for him." He started to pace up and down the room. "So he either doesn't care about getting in trouble anymore, or he's..." His eyes grew wide with realization as he stopped in his tracks. "Geez, Gypsy, what's if he's hurt?" The purple 'bot could tell he was starting to panic again.

"Joel, calm down. Are you sure you looked everywhere?"

"Well, everywhere I thought he'd be. This ship is huge, Gyps. There's more than half of it I haven't even explored yet! He could be anywhere and it could takes *days* to search, for God's sake..."

"Then we'd better get started." Gypsy went up to her creator and nudged him softly. "Don't worry. We'll find him."

Joel smiled, despite how upset he was, and patted the purple 'bot's head affectionately. "Thanks, girl. You go right, I'll go left. If you find him, let me know through Magic Voice."

"Roger!" Gypsy replied with a nod, then she was gone.

The human sighed and followed her out of the control room. He went left and, although he had already checked the rooms down this corridor, he figured it wouldn't hurt to check them again. For all he knew, Crow could have just been playing hide 'n' seek.

And to think he had been hoping to build another 'bot after Crow was settled in.

Joel sighed again in frustration.

One robot was more than enough.

*******************************************

A glance at his watch told Joel he'd been searching for almost an hour. He still hadn't heard anything from Gypsy via Magic Voice, so obviously neither of them were having any luck. Never one to hold his temper for long, his anger had ebbed away awhile ago. Now he was just plain worried. And tired.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by Magic Voice. "Joel?"

The human nearly jumped out of his skin at the noise, but quickly recovered. "Yeah?"

"I hear something in Sector 23. I'm sure it's Crow."

A sense of relief washed over Joel like a tidal wave. "Thanks!" he shouted, as he broke into a jog towards Sector 23. It was a part of the ship he'd never been to before, but luckily each sector was clearly and conveniently labeled. He'd just passed Sector 20.

On the way to his destination, Joel was thinking up a proper punishment for the rambunctious robot. The Longest Time Out Ever was probably in order. Oh, and two weeks worth of cleaning out the load pan bay, of course.

As he neared the entrance to Sector 23, he was surprised to hear laughter and giggles echoing off the walls. He approached the doorway slowly and looked inside. His jaw dropped a bit at what he saw.

Boxes...what seemed like hundreds of boxes. Boxes of all sizes, from tiny to really big. Mostly cardboard boxes, but there were a few wooden crates as well, including the giant one that could have easily fit a medium-sized elephant. Most of them were piled up towards the high ceiling of the room.

And in the middle of it all was a certain gold-toned 'bot.

When Joel set out to build robots, he never imagined he'd end up here, watching one of them like a father would watch his child at a playground for the first time. Any frustration he might have held toward Crow was gone, instantly evaporated in the child-like innocence that seemed to fill the area.

He watched as Crow ran around with a boundless energy, ducking under cardboard bridges and jumping over little cardboard trails. The 'bot shoved over one of the taller stacks and quickly ran off before the boxes could land on top of him, laughing as he went.

The laughter was infectious for Joel and he couldn't help but chuckle over Crow's antics. The 'bot was definitely having a blast.

Crow started to climb up the tall stack of boxes that was nearest to the giant wooden crate. Joel frowned, wondering what the 'bot was doing. The human gasped as Crow nearly fell over as he reached the top, but quickly regained his balance. Joel's frown went immediately to a look of horror as Crow leapt off the stack, clutching his skinny legs to his chest, yelling, "CANNONBALL!"

"CROW!" Joel shouted, rushing into the room as the 'bot landed in the giant crate. The human was surprised to see packing peanuts fly out of it from Crow's impact. He couldn't believe it. The thing was filled with little foam packing peanuts.

Crow leaned over the edge of the crate, a good scoop of packing peanuts in his net. "Hiya, Joel!" he said cheerfully. "Lookit what I found!"

Joel was still getting over his shock of Crow jumping; he could still feel his heart pounding in his chest. "Uh, yeah. I see it. Nice place you got here."

The 'bot nodded enthusiastically. "I know it." He crawled over the edge of the crate and gently dropped down, nearly causing Joel a heart attack. That wasn't exactly a short distance!

Crow didn't seem to notice his creator's concern. He just grabbed Joel's right hand with both of his claws and pulled him towards the other side of the room. "C'mon! I gotta show you something really cool."

Joel allowed himself to be led where the boxes weren't so plentiful, but there were some here and there. Crow dropped his hand and bounded over to an upside-down box that wasn't too big, but that he could easily stand up in. In fact, that's just what he did. He lifted the box up and scrambled under it, poking his head out of a window-like square hole.

"It's my Super-Secret-Chocolate-Fudgey-Cardboard Batcave!" he proclaimed happily.

His creator laughed. "It sure is." He slowly circled the "Batcave," examining it with a thoughtful look on his face. "Ya know, we could fix it up a little bit."

"We could?"

"Sure...add a door, maybe get some paint and add some color..."

If Crow were human, Joel knew his eyes would be lit up with sheer joy. "Really? You mean it?" Crow asked, excitement in his voice.

Joel nodded, smiling. "Yeah. It'll be fun."

Crow disappeared for a split second as he scrambled out of the box, flipping it over in his hurry. He grabbed the edge and started dragging it out towards the door. "Let's go then!"

His creator glanced at his watch and shook his head. "Sorry, Crow. Not tonight. It's almost time for bed."

"Awww..." Crow released the box in disappointment.

"But we can bring it up to the bridge, and we'll start it first thing tomorrow. Okay?"

This seemed to cheer the 'bot up. "Okay."

Joel picked up the box and swung it over his shoulder, carrying it with his right hand. To his surprise, Crow took his left hand. The 'bot looked up at the human as they walked out of Sector 23. "Do you think we have time for some ice cream with chocolate RAM chips?" he asked hopefully.

His creator smiled. "I think we can manage some." Then he suddenly remembered what had brought him to Sector 23 in the first place. "But if you ever run off without telling me again, you'll have load pan bay cleaning duty for a month. Got it? You really had me worried."

Crow nodded. "Got it." He leaned his head on Joel's arm. "Sorry I didn't answer Magic Voice. I was having fun."

"It's okay, I understand."

They continued their walk to the commissary in silence. Joel glanced down at Crow with a smile. No, he definitely never thought this was where he'd be.

But he was sure that the fun and laughter would far outweigh the frustration and worry.

Maybe building another robot wasn't such a bad idea, after all.

END.

**Author's Note:**

> If you'd like to see the Super-Secret-Chocolate-Fudgey-Cardboard Batcave in all it's glory, check out the opening segment of episode #309 - The Amazing Colossal Man.


End file.
